Big East Tournament 2012: Inability to Close Games Will Haunt Syracuse in NYC

The Syracuse Orange are heading into the Big East tournament as the No. 1 seed, with a 30-1 overall and a 17-1 conference record.

They are the overwhelming favorites to win it all and supposedly should destroy anyone who stands in their way, but that simply won’t happen.

Remember, this group of Orangemen hasn’t had the easiest time earning their consensus No. 2 overall ranking and it wouldn’t be out of the question for them to drop a game in Madison Square Garden this weekend.

They have had some close calls this season, including a narrow 71-69 win over UConn on Feb. 25, a 52-51 battle against Louisville, a 64-61 overtime thriller against Georgetown, a 63-61 victory over West Virginia and, of course, their lone defeat at the hands of Notre Dame.

This is a Syracuse squad that is simply loaded from top to bottom with elite NBA prospects and All-American worthy talent and it’s extremely disconcerting that they have been involved in so many close matchups, especially in conference play.

A roster that features Kris Joseph, Dion Waiters, Brandon Triche, Fab Melo and Scoop Jardine – just to name a few studs – should be faring much better against lesser competition.

It’s going to be an even bigger concern when they face teams with their backs to the wall fighting to even make the NCAA tournament or trying to earn a respectable seed by winning the Big East.

Jim Boeheim needs to prepare his squad mentally for the fiercest matchups they will face all year. It’s not going to be an easy task whatsoever, and on the bright side, perhaps another loss would almost be good for the psyche of this young team.

Winning the 2012 Big East tournament would be great, but being humbled and going into the Big Dance with a fire lit beneath the Orange may pay dividends and reward the biggest prize of them all—cutting down the nets at the Superdome.